At the end of John 7 there is one of the most controversial
passages in the whole Bible. In certain
translations you won’t even find it in the body of the text, but in the
footnotes. St. Augustine had such doubts
about this passage that he said it should be considered subscriptural for fear
that women might use it to justify their infidelity. How could he say such a thing? Before his conversion, Augustine and
infidelity were close friends.
Even a Bible scholar with the theological acuity of
Alexander Maclaren writes, “The story of the woman taken in adultery is judged
by the best critics to be out of place here…”
And yet, the context is crucial.
Think of it. Two
chapters earlier Jesus pronounces the first of His seven “I am” statements. He
says to the gathered crowd, “I am the Bread of Life.” It’s only hours after He fed 5000 men and who
knows how many women with five loaves of bread and two fish. So, when He sees the crowd, many of whom He
had just fed, He says to them, “Why labor for bread that doesn’t satisfy…I am
the Bread of Life.” You see, the context
is essential to properly understanding His name – “The Bread of Life”.
The same is true in John 8.
Now notice He doesn’t say, “I am the reflector of light. He says, “I am the Light.” It’s His second “I am” statement and it comes
on the heels of His encounter with the adulterous woman and her wicked
accusers. The context is critical. The first revelation of Jesus’ identity comes
as He faces the starving masses. The
second revelation comes on the heels of a perfect portrait of human
darkness. It’s hard to imagine darkness much
greater than the spiritual darkness of those religious accusers. The woman comes to acknowledge Him as Lord, and
her accusers simply slither away to fight His lordship another day.
But there’s more to the context than that. The Bible says in verse 20, “Jesus spoke
these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the
offerings were put.” There are no wasted
words in Scripture.
The temple treasury was located in the court of women,
inside the court of the Gentiles. Around
this court, against the wall, were thirteen trumpet-shaped containers into
which worshippers would drop their money.
Into the first two trumpets the Jews would drop their half-shekel temple
tax for temple upkeep. Into the next two
they deposited their proceeds for the purchase of sacrificial pigeons for a
woman’s purification. Into the next
trumpet-shaped container would go money to purchase the firewood for the
sacrifice. Into the next two would flow
funds for the purchase of incense and the use of the golden altar vessels. The court of the Gentiles was a busy place
and any Jew wanting communion with God had to pay his dues to get it.
But there’s something even more significant about this
place. On the first night of the Feast
of the Tabernacles, four great candelabras were lighted in that same
court. It’s said that when they were
lighted the light from these candelabras was so bright that it bathed every
street and every corner of Jerusalem.
They burned these candelabras from sundown to sunup that first night of
the Feast, and while the light poured forth the greatest, wisest, “holiest” men
in Israel would dance before the Lord singing songs of praise while all the
people waited.
Now think of it. Why
would Jesus come here to announce that He is the Light of the World? To
testify to all of creation that there is no greater than He. For notice what He says, “I am the Light of
the World. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
So take all of that information and come to the cross. Come to the place in time when that Light is
extinguished. In Matthew 27:45 we see
that in the third hour, half say through the six hours of the crucifixion, the
land is plunged into a deep darkness.
And near to the third hour of darkness the once quiet Son of God cries
out in anguish, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Now think of it. What
we will see on Sunday is that the heart of Christianity is the Gospel. The heart of the Gospel is the cross. The heart of the cross is this
utterance. And the heart of this
utterance is the incontrovertible evidence of His victory (and through Him
ours) in the midst of the spiritual war.
In preparation for Sunday you may wish to read Matthew
27:45-51 and I John 1:5-9 and consider the following questions:
1. When
is the first time “darkness” is mentioned in Scripture?
2. What
role does darkness play in the Exodus?
(Exodus 5-14)
3. What
are the theological implications of darkness?
4. How
does God demonstrate His consistency in Egypt and at the cross?
5. What
is the answer to Jesus’ question in Matthew 26:46? (See Psalm 22:3)
6. How
is the punishment of God on the Light of the World greater than His punishment
of the “bearer of light”?
7. How
do these words of Jesus fulfill the instruction of Leviticus 16?
8. What
does the torn curtain indicate in verse 51?
9. How
do the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit accomplish their victory over Satan in the
midst of the darkness?
10. How do the
words, “Jesus is watching you,” move from fear to faith?
See you Sunday as we continue looking at more evidence of
victory.
